Soccer!

Cole started playing Soccer this year. These pictures are of his first practice. I must say that our Coach is so engaging and fun that Cole remains interested in the process and seems to really enjoy practices. Rhys also is very engaged in the process as you can see and, dare I say, was quicker to pick up the idea and followed all of the coach's directions. I am also enjoying Soccer more because two of my very best pals have children on Cole's team. This is going to be FUN!

I blame John Lasseter

John Lasseter - the father of the Toy Story Series and Lightning McQueen is the reason that I shed a tear as my very first - just mine, bought for by me - car was carried away on a roll-back truck. Maybe it is afraid because it is being taken away. Maybe it is going to miss me. I am just projecting because it was one thing that made me know that I could be independent. I was really an adult - defined by debt. I bought a car! It was a very happy day for me and I was so proud of that car. Emotions that strong for a lifeless item don't fade completely and as I watched her being carried away on a "stretcher" bound for a future unknown, I was saddened at the prospect. Hopefully someone will give her new life and she won't be quick to the junk yard. I can't bear the thought.

Trust

Here is a conversation we had on the way home from the gym:

Cole: "Oops, mom, I dropped the wrapper on the floor."
Me: "That's okay, Cole, I trust you to pick it up when we get out of the car."
Cole: "What does trust mean?"
Me: "It is when someone does something they said they will do or they are supposed to do."
Cole: "I trust you to buy me a car when I get big."

Is is that time again?

I get into patterns and if I had the interest, I could go through this blog and see it all in black and white. I decide that I have had enough, gotten out of shape, let the house go, let myself go, and want to get it all back into shape right away.

I am really good for about a month and then I decide that things can take a break and so can I. I relax with everything and the first to start showing wear is the house, then my clothes are a bit tight, I find that I need to reel in the spending and the calories.

I cut back - way back - with everything and start fresh again. I am at the point of starting fresh again and find that I am having to explain more and more about why we aren't going to McDonalds, renting a bouncy castle for no reason, or getting smoothies at the gym cafe. We really don't need to spend the money. We really don't have the money. We don't need that. The list goes on and on while my frustration mounts.

I am hitting the gym again and this time I am not going every day. I actually don't want to go every day. If it works out that I am able to...great! If not, I will be happy with a steady 3 to 4 times a week. Everything in moderation is my mantra yet again. Living in excess is starting to show and I can't take it anymore.

"Tell him what he's won, Rod"

"It's a NEW CAR, Bob!"

The green car (the first car I bought with my very own money) finally kicked the bucket on Monday and we decided not to put any more money into it. So after one stressful night of internet car shopping, we ventured out with the boys to shop on Tuesday night. The boys made my presence useless, by the way, and after one stop, I decided to take the children home and let Chris head back out on his own. He did but didn't test drive anything or narrow his list down any more than he had already done. I called in back-up and set the kids up with a babysitter on Wednesday night.

I picked Chris up from work and we had a quick dinner followed by a slow process at the VW dealership where Chris drove a new Jetta. He wasn't convinced so we headed on to the Toyota dealership where he drove a Camry and eliminated the Jetta. He decided that he wanted the Camry and, although the price was higher than our limit, I asked the salesman to meet us at our limit and he "was able to do it". I am always curious about how much these things actually cost when you don't include all of the overhead - the fancy showrooms, the salaries of everyone from the sales guys to the receptionist and the cleaning crew to the freight costs and the commissions...that car probably cost about $1,000 to make - ugh.

Anyway, as the world turns and commerce makes that happen, we contributed to the auto food chain and were assured by our Mexican-American salesman (soon to be sworn in as a citizen and a very lovely man) that the car was made in Kentucky ;). SO, we really contributed to the US food chain - at least a little bit.

Jorge sold us a 2011 Camry LE with keyless entry and power seats (the only thing that sets this model apart from the base model)...nothing but the best for my husband..ha ha. Chris was unenthusiastic about the whole process only wishing for the end to come and it all to be over. I do hope that he is driving the car that he wants, not the car that he felt pressured into getting because of the time crunch. At any rate, he seems to love this car and while there may have been another one to love out there...he has this red beauty to love for a long time.

Hospitalized!

This post will serve as a full explanation of how we got here for everyone concerned about Cole's condition. Over the past 12 months, Cole has had upper respiratory infections that have led or nearly led to pneumonia. Chris and I have learned to spot the signs that require doctor visits. We try our best to catch his colds early enough so they don't progress this far.

Sadly, we have come to realize that we can't do that anymore. Friday afternoon, he had a stuffy nose and said that his throat hurt. I gave him some allergy medicine. Saturday after his nap, he needed a breathing treatment. Saturday night, I couldn't sleep fearing his oxygen levels were low. I brought him to bed with me and listened all night as he coughed and struggled to breathe.

Sunday morning, I took him to Patient First and after 1 Albuterol treatment they sent us to the ER. We stayed in the ER from 10:30am until 6:30pm. He was given 3 Hospital Albuterol treatments back to back and didn't show ANY improvement. He was also given an oral steroid. After that didn't work, he sat for 3 hours on a continuous albuterol treatment. I say that he sat but that isn't true...he is a 4 year old boy, after all. Anyway, I knew that we had to stay for an hour after every hour of treatment so I was already mentally prepared to be there for 6 hours (between the original treatments and the 3 hour treatment). After 1.5 hours of the 3 hour treatment, he still was showing no sign of improvement and we were told then that we won a night time stay. Yippee (dripping with sarcasm).

We kept that treatment going and made our way through the day with a mid-afternoon visit from Daddy and Rhys bearing gifts of new PSP games, movies, a Happy Meal, books, toys, and a pillow pet. After that visit, we continued with treatments and monitoring, playing games, and fending off the frustration and boredom that goes with a visit to the ER. At one point, he pulled off the mask and unplugged his finger from the monitor, threw it all down and said, "That's it, I'm outta here!" Chris came back with dinner and supplies for our stay around 6:30 and we were moved to the room, ate, and got settled in.

Overnight, Cole received breathing treatments every 2 hours and had his vitals monitored throughout the night. I slept on one of the reclining chairs and am thankful that I have a husband who will relieve me tonight if he has to stay another night.

I was hopeful when we woke up that we would probably go home today but that changed after the last respiratory therapist came in and said that he was still too congested to say if we would be able to see enough improvement in him today. I am sad for him, frustrated for him, and tired with him.

Our plan after he was sick in late June was to ask for a referral to a specialist from the Pediatrician. Unfortunately, he wasn't well long enough to go back for a follow-up. That will come soon, though.

A salute to General Update

I just thought it was time for me to do a "check from the neck up" as my old boss used to say. I have been working and commuting for over a month now and I really love it. I love the people I work with and for. I love the time I have with them in the office. I don't mind the quiet early morning drive in or the afternoon drive home - although I am so eager to see my boys that I feel like I am not being a safe driver. At some point, I have to find peace in the situation and know that it could take less than an hour, it could take closer to 90 minutes...either way, I will arrive safely at the sitter's house as long as I am driving SAFELY!

The weather has been strange. It has been too hot to be outside and now that the temperature is more reasonable, we are having afternoon and evening thunderstorms which saturate the ground and playground equipment so the park is out of question and the moisture in the air is so thick, it is like a bathroom after you take a shower. EEK and YUCK. When the air quality is poor, we can't be outside anyway because of Cole's asthma.

My garden has been loving it and hating it all at the same time. Loving the heat and rain...hating the wind. This morning I found my forest of tomato plants in a heap. I negotiated my way to the end where I could right some of the support posts and connect them to the cucumber/bean support and I installed a tomato cage at the opposite end for the edge of the mound to rest on. At this point, if I mess with it anymore, most of my green tomatoes will fall on the ground or I will break branches. They will just have to do their best on their own. Next year, I will build a structural support before the plants go into the ground. I am thinking re bar supports connected with wire so I don't have to worry about warping wooden supports.

At any rate, there is always the farm market and farmer's markets. I went on Saturday to Papa John's Farm and bought some zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, patty pan squash, watermelon, tomatoes, and purple bell peppers. With some of the veggies, I made gazpacho and tonight I am roasting a bunch of veggies that have been marinating in pesto seasoning all afternoon.

This healthy eating brings me to the next subject. I haven't felt quite like myself lately and it could be the "vacation" eating and celebrating that has been going on lately. Becky (my younger sister) and her family visited last week and we went to/hosted 4 parties from Friday night to Sunday night. From hotdogs, to hamburgers, to pork BBQ, and steamed crabs with kielbasa...I think I ate about 2 pints of salt. That, of course, was chased by more adult beverages than I want to recount.

We are giving our hearts and livers a break by eating fresh, healthy, and alcohol free for the next few weeks (at least). I took the boys to the gym with me this morning and pounded out over 400 calories before heading home. Tomorrow we will be at the gym again and if the weather holds out, we will be hitting the pool afterwards.

Life is good but small annoyances put me in a foul mood. I do try to keep it all in perspective but sometimes...well, you know the rest.